is a 1978 animated

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

based on

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

' 1843 novella ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

''. It was created by

Arthur Rankin Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation ...

and

Jules Bass Julius Bass (September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer, and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft Internat ...

, and features traditional

animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

rather than the

stop motion animation Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames ...

most often used by the company. It was an animated

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...

of a long-unseen, but quite well received, live-action musical special (also called ''The Stingiest Man in Town'') which had starred

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...

Martyn Green William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in t ...

, and

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and ...

. The live-action version had been telecast on December 23, 1956, on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

anthology series ''

The Alcoa Hour ''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa. Overview Like the ''Philco Television Playhouse'' and ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' that had prece ...

'', and was published on DVD in 2011, by VAI. The animated remake first aired December 23, 1978, in the United States on

, and was telecast in Japan the next day.

Plot

''The Stingiest Man in Town'' is the tale of

Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghos ...

, told through the perspective of the insect B.A.H. Humbug (voiced by Tom Bosley), a word play on Scrooge's catchphrase, " bah humbug". Scrooge (voiced by

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), '' King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

) is portrayed as the tightwad

intended him to be, with his consistent resistance to assist the poor, or even have

Christmas dinner Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of ...

with his nephew Fred (voiced by Dennis Day) and his family. In hopes of resuscitating the goodness of his friend, the ghost of Jacob Marley (voiced by

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

), Scrooge's former business partner, visits Scrooge in his mansion, exhorting him to change his ways. Scrooge deems this to be madness and soon prepares for bed. Nevertheless, Scrooge's attitude soon changes after a fateful night, wherein three ghosts visit him and take him through his past and present, and show him what his future will be like if he does not change. Scrooge sees a younger version of himself (voiced by

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production ...

) and realizes how greedy and miserly he has become. The

Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit fr ...

(voiced by

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

) proceeds to take Scrooge to the home of his diligent employee

Bob Cratchit Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge (and possibly Jacob Marley, when he was alive), Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working condi ...

, and discovers just how much poverty Cratchit and his family wallow in. Cratchit's crippled son Tiny Tim (voiced by Bobby Rolofson) touches Scrooge's heart and instigates a transformation within his personality. The

Ghost of Christmas Future The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a vis ...

then brings Scrooge to a cemetery to show the result of his once greedy behaviour. The production concludes with Scrooge assisting those less fortunate than himself.

Cast

- Ebenezer Scrooge **

- Young Scrooge * Tom Bosley - B. A. H. Humbug, Esq. *

- Marley's Ghost * Dennis Day - Nephew Fred *

- The Ghost of Christmas Past, The

Sonny Melendrez Sonny Melendrez (born 1946) is an American radio and TV personality, motivational speaker and author. Biography Melendrez was born in Silver City, New Mexico. Twice named ''Billboard'' Magazine's "Radio Personality of the Year", he is include ...

- Bob Cratchit * Debbie Clinger - Martha Cratchit * Robert Rolofson - Tiny Tim * Steffani Calli - Belinda Cratchit * Eric Hines - Peter Cratchit * Darlene Conley - Mrs. Cratchit *

Shelby Flint Shelby Flint (born September 17, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter who had two top-100 hits, " Angel on My Shoulder" in 1961 and "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" in 1966. Career Flint's single "I Will Love You" appeared in the Variety T.I.P.S ...

- Belle *

Charles Matthau Charles Marcus Matthau (born December 10, 1962) is an American actor, director, producer, and writer. He is the son of actor Walter Matthau and actress/author Carol Grace. Matthau gained recognition for his directorial work encapsulating humanit ...

- The Boy * Dee Stratton - Voice * Diana Lee - Voice

Staff

* Producers/Directors -

Arthur Rankin, Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation ...

* Associate Producer - Masaki Iizuka * Writer -

Romeo Muller Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays for the Rankin/Bass holiday specials including ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy ...

* Based on the 1843 novella ''

'' -

* Music - Fred Spielman * Book and Lyrics - Janice Torre * Design - Paul Coker, Jr. * Animation Coordinator - Toru Hara * Animation Supervisor - Tsuguyuki Kubo * Animation Director - Katsuhisa Yamada * Background Design - Minoru Nishida * Backgrounds - Kazusuke Yoshihara, Kazuko Ito * Layouts - Kazuyuki Kobayashi, Tadakatsu Yoshida, Hidemi Kubo * Animation - Yoshiko Sasaki,

Masahiro Yoshida Masahiro is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese councillor (''Rōjū'') *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese artist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese ...

* Sound Recording - John Curcio, John Richards, Dave Iveland, Robert Elder * Sound Effects - Tom Clack * Vocal Arrangements - Jerry Graff * Music Supervision -

Maury Laws Maury Laws (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and film composer from Burlington, North Carolina. Biography In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home st ...

* Music Arranger/Conductor -

Bernard Hoffer Bernard Hoffer (born October 14, 1934) is a Swiss-born American composer and conductor. He is best known for his work on American cartoons such as '' ThunderCats'' and ''SilverHawks''. He worked on several of Rankin/Bass' television series and ...

Production

As with previous Rankin-Bass specials, animation duties for the 1978 version were provided by a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese studio, in this case

Topcraft Topcraft (トップクラフト ''Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established on February 1, 1972 by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was famous for the production of ...

, many of whose animators would later form the core of

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

. Given that ''The Stingiest Man in Town'' was actually broadcast in Japan on Christmas Eve of 1978 (under the title ''Machi Ichiban Kechinbō''), it is listed as an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

in some sources. The Japanese version was directed by Katsuhisa Yamada, better known for his work on '' Mazinger Z'' and ''

Devil Hunter Yohko is a Japanese original video animation series created by Madhouse, produced by Toho, and released in North America by ADV Films as their first release. The series was first released on December 1, 1990 and ended on July 1, 1995. It is about ...

'' and the characters were designed by Paul Coker Jr.

Songs

The production features an unusual number of songs, far more than in other animated productions of the story. * Sing a Christmas Carol * An Old Fashioned Christmas * Humbug * The Stingiest Man in Town * I Wear a Chain * Golden Dreams * It Might Have Been * The Christmas Spirit * Yes, There is a Santa Claus * Birthday Party of the King * One Little Boy * You Wear a Chain * Mankind Should be My Business

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stingiest Man in Town, The 1978 anime films 1978 in American television 1978 television films 1978 films 1978 television specials 1970s American television specials 1970s animated television specials 1978 drama films American Christmas films American musical fantasy films Animated Christmas films Animated Christmas television specials Christmas television specials Drama anime and manga Historical anime and manga Films based on A Christmas Carol Television shows based on A Christmas Carol Television shows directed by Jules Bass Television shows directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. Films directed by Katsuhisa Yamada Ghosts in television Topcraft Rankin/Bass Productions television specials Animated films based on novels Television shows written by Romeo Muller Musical television specials 1970s American films